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Entry #47

YouTube and 'Popular' Animators amirite.

Hey guys. Just get a part time job if animation doesn't pay you much. 'independant' animation is an arts industry do you really expect the flow of money to be constant. Most Independant Writers, painters, short film makers and musicians aren't always rolling in money every 5 seconds.

2014-08-04 23:04:24

2014-08-05 01:56:45

A. I strongly agree with you, if YouTube was to fall tomorrow, a lot of those popular animators would be stuck with their hands down their pants, thinking - "Oh yeah, so that's why my parents told me to go to college. Hurr Hurr Dur!"
B. Your gif looks cool af, is it apart of something bigger? Like a movie or something?

2014-08-08 19:58:31

What kind of response was that, What does a sub count have to do with anything? The point of the videos were, were not making money every second, it was animators wont make shit on youtube, That was THE bottom line, Judging by how you responded and how you closed with your blog you seem to up your ass to assume anything else.

I know what is happening with the whole YouTube scenario because I have friends who make different kind of content based on the CPM. They get paid a lot more than me even at lower CPM counts etc. YouTube won't change. Its not for Artists or creative people. Look what I am trying to say is that if you are going to choose to have internet cartoon parodies as your sole income then its your fault for not planning it. Tomorrow YouTube could close down. Or YouTube could implement a system where non original content revenue goes directly to the studio which conceived the idea. e.g. EA gets all rev from BioShock Parodies or Fan Theory videos.

Why would you choose an unstable job and then complain about the low rates when its what you signed up for?

I know you do commissions to pay the bills and that is something I think more Animators should do. Or start another channel which milks the YT teat.

2014-08-08 20:13:07

Getting a new job is what all of the animators who had fulltime jobs on Youtube ARE doing. The videos released by Ross and Mick aren't pleads to fix the system, they're instructional and explanatory "here's what's going on" type videos for people who don't understand the situation.

I don't think anyone expects the flow of money to be constant nor have they ever. A lot of animators and artists are doing freelance currently, and if that suddenly dried up I think there would be an extremely different reaction. I'm not sure why a line is drawn at Youtube for what constitutes a real job. You put in hours and time and get paid in return. I'd consider that a job.

The unexpectedness of Youtube's future and how well it supports animated content doesn't delegitimize it as a resource for income or make it any easier than any other job. I think it's really odd that your "rolling in money" mentality is a popular one to have. Absolutely, some Youtubers make a lot of money a year, but the CPM ratio is grossly over-exaggerated.

Would you take a job that paid significantly more than usual for your profession if you were assured at some point the job would cease to exist? I think most people would.

To take the position of "you should've seen this coming" and pretend it's a unique viewpoint is almost misleading, considering every person who had a full-time job doing Youtube videos already understood that it was an unstable platform that was bound to cave in on itself any day. A lot of people took the opportunity when they could and understood the risks with taking the opportunity, namely, how long said opportunity would last.

I'm personally glad people are sick of Youtube and are moving on. There are some interesting alternatives being looked at. I'm not a fan of Patreon, but it's helped some people out. It'll be interesting to see what the future brings, and if exclusively making online content as a full-time job supported solely by ads will ever spring up again.

I don't want to devalue your opinion but i think its fairer to say that YouTube is a hobby. Like busking. Even if you work harder on an act than the 30+ minute magician next you. If it only goes for 2 minutes then less people are willing to give. <-- that's a terrible analogy but I would think of a Job more as something where you are paid consistently by an Employer. Even film makers under shitter studios inc still get a consistent rate until the production is done. Granted they probably wont get jobs if it flops. Still I get where you're coming from.

I would say that the rolling in the dosh mentality is something which is only valid for lets players. But they are exploiting the YouTube layout. And they know it.

I am not a fan of Patreon because the money rarely goes on on the actual work. Plus mooching off your fans when you are giving things which are to be honest of no worth at all (streams, updates wallpapers etc).

"I'm personally glad people are sick of YouTube and are moving on." amen, the less people trying to become the next 'guy' because of the same 3 pokemon jokes the better.

In my personal experience of Having fulltime non animation related work on the side while doing cartoons I feel that it is better because you are doing something because you want to not because you have to.